| Tue 6 Jul 2021 in -37,145: -37.6391783, 145.0690517 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
In a lake in wetlands in Melbourne's North
Participants
Expedition
Three days before the Geohash
Thanks to the public holiday in the US, there was plenty of warning for this hash. In a wetland, on the northern edge of Melbourne. “@Stevage If you've got any residual wet geohash fomo, looks like we've got a chance this Tuesday…"
I post on our geohashing chat group, really just wanting to get a reaction from Stevage. No reply, but it got me thinking. It’s not that far away from home and maybe I’d be willing to swim if in daylight….
Two days before the Geohash
I caught up with Lachie in real life. I mention the geohash to him, to see if he has any interest. “That sounds like a really bad idea.” I am confused, Lachie just did a swimming geohash and this seems a bit easier. He did have a good point about dodgy wetland water… Nevertheless, we make plans. We’ll ride up and aim to jump in at around sunrise, so we can head back in time for work.
One day before the Geohash
Lachie spreads the word of our plan in the chat group. Steveage’s reply is best summarised as “lol no” and Felix expresses FOMO. Meanwhile, I’m beginning to feel the effects of yesterday’s vaccination. Chills kick in and spend the day napping or lying on the couch. Unsure if I’ll be 100% in the morning, Lachie and I reschedule for the afternoon. If we leave work early, we can reach the hash by sundown.
The day of the Geohash
I wake up feeling good. We’re on for the hash. I leave work early and meet up with Lachie. We ride north, towards the hash. I’m really feeling the headwind and the cold. We start out with an ok pace, but I’m beginning to struggle. 12oC according to my GPS. That’s not normally too cold for me, but it’s getting to me today. We battle our way up the tedium of St Georges Rd bike path, through endless road crossings and traffic lights. At our current rate, we’ll be lucky to make it there with any light, let alone sundown. I finally confess my concerns to Lachie. To my surprise, he is tolerant of my weakness. This is a different Lachie to the one who once berated me for not wanting to go on a ride at 11pm into the bush to get a geohash. We agree to ride on and see how we go. It’s getting dark, we ignore a sign about a detour on our trail and reach construction and a closed path. I use this as an excuse to suggest we turn around, as it will definitely be dark there. Lachie agrees, although I know he’s rather go for a stupid swim and collect another hash.
We head back, first in silence but then get back to chatting. Despite feeling cold, I’m really enjoying the ride with Lachie. We make vague plans (if we don’t get locked down again) to do another post-work ride, but maybe to a brewery rather than a cold dark swim in a wetland…
I arrive home.
“How was the geohash?” My partner asks.
“Ahhh, we didn’t make it..”
“What! Why?”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you…”
“Was it in a lake?”
“Yes…”
“You’re an idiot… Do you have fomo from the ocean geohash?”
The day after the Geohash
Felix puts us to shame by easily reaching a geohash in Melbourne’s west. Next time, less planning stupid hashes, more riding to accessible ones.
Overall, an embarrassing failure. But, it was nice riding with Lachie and hopefully we’ll make good on our aspirations for more rides.
